Updated October 2026
The Best Cross-Country Skiing & Snowshoeing in Door County
Door County has more groomed cross-country ski trail than most visitors expect, spread across four state parks, plus a free nature preserve in Sturgeon Bay that lends gear. The catch is snow. The peninsula averages close to 60 inches a year, but the lake keeps winters milder than inland Wisconsin, and recent seasons have given skiers only a few weeks of good cover at a time. Snowshoe trails are more forgiving: they work on thinner snow, and several of the spots below lend or rent snowshoes.
A few things to sort out before you go:
- Passes. Every state park requires a vehicle admission sticker, daily or annual, with higher rates for out-of-state plates. Peninsula also requires a Wisconsin state trail pass for skiers 16 and older; the DNR doesn't list Newport, Potawatomi, or Whitefish Dunes as pass-required, and snowshoers never need one.
- Trail rules. Once state park ski trails are snow-covered, hikers, snowshoers, and dogs stay off them. Every park below has separate trails for snowshoeing.
- Conditions. Check the Travel Wisconsin cross-country ski report the morning you go; trails close when the snow gets thin.
- Gear. Nor Door Sport & Cyclery (Fish Creek and Sturgeon Bay) and Bay Shore Outfitters (Sturgeon Bay) rent classic skis and snowshoes. If you skate ski, bring your own.
Fish Creek · Open year-round; vehicle admission sticker required.
Peninsula has the most skiing in the county and the easiest setup for a first winter visit: 16 miles of classic trail, mostly double-tracked and one-way, color-coded from the 1-mile Yellow loop up to the 7-mile Blue, plus 6 miles groomed for skate. Start from Lot 5 on Highland Road, where the warming house sits at the trailhead. The trade-off is the paperwork: it's the only park in Door County where skiers 16 and older need a state trail pass on top of the vehicle sticker.
If you don't own skis, Nor Door Sport & Cyclery rents classic packages and snowshoes right across Highway 42 from the Fish Creek entrance. Snowshoers get 6 miles of their own marked trail, and kids get a sledding hill on the 17th fairway of the park golf course. Eagle Tower and the lighthouse are closed for the season, so build the day around the trails.
Ellison Bay · Open year-round, 6am-11pm; requires a Wisconsin state park vehicle admission sticker. Trails are open in winter but not groomed for skiing the way Peninsula State Park's are. · Website
Newport is the wild end of the peninsula, and winter makes it quieter still. More than 26 miles of trail stay open, with about 12 miles groomed and tracked for classic skiing, 2 miles groomed for skate on the Monarch Trail, and around 5 miles for snowshoes. No state trail pass is listed here, just the vehicle sticker. The trade-off is distance: it's out past Ellison Bay with no rentals on site, so bring your gear.
Park in Lot 1 or Lot 3, the two that get plowed; the office building stays open with water and flush toilets. If your dates are flexible, aim for the second Saturday in February, when the park's candlelight night lights a groomed ski trail and a separate hiking and snowshoe loop, with a bonfire at the shelter.
Sturgeon Bay · Open year-round; vehicle admission sticker required. Ski trails are groomed in winter when snow allows. · Website
Potawatomi is the easy ski from Sturgeon Bay: about 8.5 miles on four one-way loops, with the Blue, Black, and Red loops groomed for both classic and skate and the Green loop for classic only. That makes it the best skate option in southern Door. The ski trailhead is at the Group Camp, with parking and restrooms. The trade-off is size; it's a smaller network than Peninsula's, better for an afternoon than a full day.
Snowshoers get the park's stretch of the Ice Age Trail, which ends here after crossing Wisconsin, plus a short nature trail; stay off the groomed ski loops. Rentals are a few minutes back into town at Nor Door's Sturgeon Bay shop or Bay Shore Outfitters. A road and utility project ran through the park in 2026, so check the DNR's park conditions page before you head out.
Sturgeon Bay · Trails open daily, dawn–dusk; learning center weekdays. · Website
Crossroads at Big Creek is the cheapest way to try skiing in Door County, because it costs nothing. The trails are free and open around the clock, and when there's snow, the Ski-for-Free program lends skis, boots, poles, snowshoes, and kicksleds in every size, no reservation needed, with volunteers to help with fitting. The trade-off is scale: the loops run from half a mile to 1.4 miles, and they're groomed only when conditions allow.
Check the ticker at the top of the Crossroads website before you go; that's where loaner hours and trail conditions get posted. Leashed dogs are welcome at Big Creek, which you can't say for state park ski trails. Come back on a winter evening for one of the monthly luminary-lit hikes.
Jacksonport · Open year-round; vehicle admission sticker required.
Whitefish Dunes grooms about 5 miles for classic skiing only, including the Red Trail along the shore, so it's the pick if you want Lake Michigan in view while you ski. Snowshoers have more choice than skiers here: several multi-use loops, plus snowshoes to borrow from the nature center, which is open Friday through Monday in the off-season. No state trail pass is listed; the vehicle sticker covers it.
From November through March, leashed dogs are allowed on the whole beach, a rare winter perk. Stay off the shoreline ice: the park is blunt that Lake Michigan ice off its beach is never safe to walk on. The fourth Saturday in January brings a candlelight hike and ski with a fire at the picnic shelter.
Baileys Harbor · $ · Trails open year-round; nature center hours vary by season. · Website
The Ridges is a snowshoe stop rather than a ski one, and a lovely one: the ridge-and-swale forest in Baileys Harbor holds snow in quiet, sheltered stretches, and the nature center's store rents snowshoes. A day trail pass is required, and snowshoes stay off the boardwalks, so follow the designated snowshoe trails.
Two planning notes: dogs aren't allowed on Ridges trails, and every trail closes for the nine-day gun deer season in late November. Between Christmas and New Year's, the Holiday Luminary Walks light the sanctuary in the evening, and guided winter hikes go out on snowshoes when conditions allow.
More places to snowshoe
- Ellison Bluff County Park: a 1.2-mile loop to a bluff-top overlook of Green Bay. It isn't groomed, and it's a favorite with snowshoers.
- Toft Point: an easy out-and-back of about a mile each way to the Moonlight Bay shoreline, past the old Toft cottages.
- Ephraim Preserve at Anderson Pond: a Door County Land Trust loop of about a mile, sheltered on windy days. The parking area isn't plowed.
- Ahnapee State Trail: open to skiing and snowshoeing, but ungroomed and shared with snowmobiles.
Rock Island has no winter access; its ferry runs only from Memorial Day weekend into October.
Our take
Plan a ski trip with a backup. If the snow doesn't cooperate, the same parks make good winter hikes, and the candlelight nights go on regardless: Whitefish Dunes on the fourth Saturday in January, Peninsula during Fish Creek Winterfest in early February, and Newport on the second Saturday in February. Pack a headlamp for those. For the rest of a winter trip, see what's open in winter and our winter events calendar.